


All This Time

by Acaeria



Series: Hogwarts Falls [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, its basically a hogwarts au where the pines family is even more messed up than they are in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 21:54:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5265080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaeria/pseuds/Acaeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hogwarts AU: "If there was anything Mabel soon got sick of saying, it was telling everyone that no, the Pines boy in Slytherin was not her twin, he was not her brother, they weren’t even related."</p>
            </blockquote>





	All This Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you decide to write a prologue to a fic and it becomes so long you may as well post it as a one-shot because there's no way any other chapters will be this long. The story itself for this AU is partially inspired by the Reunion Falls AU, so you should definitely go check that out!

The Great Hall was alive for the first time all summer, filled with swarms of people. The teachers sat at the head table, surveying the hall; in their centre was Professor Northwest, the headmaster. He sported a demure smile, his eyes sweeping over the students, colder than anything.

Friends were talking, relaying stories from the past six weeks. The candles above flickered, dripping wax that dissolved as it fell through the air. Food was laid out on the tables, and though many eyed it, nobody moved to take it.

Finally, when each and every person had taken their seat at the correct table, first years began to file through the door. Heads turned and bodies twisted as the older students attempted to look. The eleven-year-olds in the centre of the room were huddled together, black cloaks blending into one, their faces hidden by hair or shadow.

The deputy headmaster, Professor Cutebiker, cleared his throat for silence. The conversations came to an end, and he called the first name.

The kids made their way, one by one, to the stool and had the hat placed upon their head. Many were nervous, wringing their hands or shaking or tripping on their way to the front. Some, though, were nothing of the sort. A blonde girl, the headmaster’s daughter, strutted confidently to the front, and was under the hat for two minutes before she was sent to the Slytherin table. During this time it could be noticed that her father became more and more agitated, his brows screwing up and his mouth forming a thin line. By the time the next student was called up, however, there was no sign of this, his face a picture of cool politeness and fake interest once more.

After her was a boy who seemed to be a strange mixture of nervous, excited and confident, stumbling to the front and sitting down under the hat. He was under there for five, ten minutes, before finally following the Northwest girl to Slytherin; and nobody would forget Dipper Pines being the longest hatstall in a long, long while.

Following him was a girl who seemed to be his sister; they had the same last name, at least, and they looked similar, too. She skipped to the front, leaving a trail of- was that _glitter_?- in her wake, and was sent to Hufflepuff before the hat had even touched her head.

When at last the sorting was over, the headmaster stood and gave his obligatory start-of-year speech, before returning to his seat. The moment he sat down, the spell on the hall broke, and everyone burst into conversation, digging into the food.

It could be noted that Pacifica Northwest soon found friends; two forgettable girls from rich backgrounds, with nice hair and expensive clothes. She spoke to them, and them only, ignoring anyone who tried to speak to her. Mabel Pines, on the other hand, spoke to everyone on her table, excitedly relaying stories about her life at home, her pet pig, and anything else she could think about. It seemed that nobody could quite resist her charm or her dazzling smile.

And then there was Dipper Pines, who simply got out a book and began to read as he picked at his food. Anybody who attempted to talk to him found that their words fell on deaf ears; he had simply blocked the world out.

* * *

If there was anything Mabel soon got sick of saying, it was telling everyone that no, the Pines boy in Slytherin was _not_ her twin, he was not her brother, they weren’t even _related_. In fact, she’d never even seen him before the sorting! The message seemed to be lost in transition to most people, and she still found herself being asked about him. At one point, even her _professor_ asked her to give her brother his homework, as he’d been absent from his last class. Annoyed, she resigned herself to a trip down to the Slytherin dungeons to deliver it.

When she got there, however, she was turned away at the door, and told to check the library. Growing even more frustrated, she turned around and headed the opposite way, and back up to the very top of the castle. For every step she climbed, she became even more determined to learn magic, just so she could levitate herself up them rather than struggling up them.

Finally, she reached the library, and foraged inside. She’d never entered it before; it was like a temple of nerdiness, with shelves that went from floor to ceiling, decked with what looked like every book ever written. _How will I ever find him in here?_ she wondered to herself in despair. She was certain any attempt to navigate this forest of knowledge would leave her lost.

To her surprise, however, it didn’t take her very long at all. Dipper Pines was sitting on the floor between two shelves, a book in his lap and his school bag pressed against his side.

“Hello?” Mabel called. He didn’t react. She took out the homework and threw it to land beside him on the ground. He still didn’t take notice, blinking once and turning the page of his book.

Mabel could have left. She’d done her job; she had no reason to stay. Still, though, she felt the urge to talk to him, or at least get his attention. So she plonked herself down opposite him, sitting and watching as he read. Up close, she could see what could have been a birthmark, or maybe a weirdly-shaped collection of pimples, on his forehead, hidden beneath his hair.

She had no idea how long she sat there, watching him, before he finally looked up and locked eyes with her.

“Uh-! Where did you come from?” he asked. Mabel pointed at the homework by his right knee.

“I was told to bring this to you.”

“Oh.” He picked it up, looking at what was written on the parchment before shoving it into his bag. “How come they sent you, and not someone in my house?”

“They still think I’m your sister. Which is stupid, considering this is the first time we’ve ever had a conversation.” His eyes widened.

“Oh, so _you’re_ Mabel! Yeah, I keep getting questions about that too. When will they learn…?”

“Who knows,” Mabel sighed. “So, what’re you reading? Must be good, if you didn’t even notice I was here.” His face flushed red.

“Oh, um, my Great-Uncle, he researches magical creatures; this is one of his books.” He held it out to Mabel. She took it from him, flicking through; the pages were old and yellow, covered in fancy writing and nonsensical symbols, accompanied by incredibly detailed diagrams of what was being described on that page. She tried to scan through one of them, but gave up between long.

“Yeah, that’s _waaaay_ too nerdy for me,” she told him. “I don’t even understand half of what’s written in English, let alone the rest of it!” Dipper ducked his head.

“Mm, yeah, Great-Uncle Ford’s kind of paranoid. He’s always writing things in codes and ciphers; I’m just used to them, considering I grew up with him, and all.”

“Wait, you were raised by your Great Uncle too?” Mabel cried. “I’ve never met anyone else who was!”

“What?” Dipper frowned. “You live with your Great Uncle?”

“Yeah, my Grunkle Stan! He’s muggleborn, and he lives in this out-of-the-way muggle town, selling magical remedies and fake creatures. Everyone thinks he’s a scam, but I think he’s pretty cool.”

“That’s… huh. Same last name, raised by the same family member… Those are two weird things to have in common, don’t you think?” he asked. Mabel shrugged.

“I think it’s pretty cool!” As she said it, Dipper closed the book and slid it into his bag. “Hey, you’re going?” she asked.

“What? Oh, no, I just… I figured you’d want my attention if we’re going to talk.”

“Oh, okay! So, how’s school been so far? What’s your favourite lesson?”

“It’s been okay, I guess… I guess Defence would be my favourite lesson.”

“Mine’s charms! What’s your house like? Everyone says Slytherins are evil but I don’t believe them. After all, how can an entire house be evil? That doesn’t make sense. If there was an evil house, they’d just get rid of everyone in it!”

“Um… They’re okay I guess. I don’t really talk to anyone much.”

“Oh,” Mabel realised that he was feeling uncomfortable, and changed the subject. “So… why are you living with your Grunkle?”

“My parents died when I was a baby. I don’t know how; Great-Uncle Ford never told me, and it’s not like it matters, is it?”

“Well, that’s one way to look at it. Mine died too; Grunkle Stan told me that a unicorn raced into the road and they crashed swerving out of its way. I still really love unicorns, though. Have you ever met one?”

“No, my my Great-Uncle Ford has, and he says that they’re… not very nice.”

Mabel gasped. “Dipper, you can’t say that! They’re the purest creatures in existence!” Dipper shrugged.

“Those’re his words, not mine. Well, they’re paraphrased, so they technically are, but, you know?”

“Hmm, I guess.” Before the conversation could continue any longer, the librarian poked her head around the shelf.

“Out!” she hissed at them. “You’re being too loud! And aren’t you brats supposed to be down in the Great Hall by now, anyway?” The two of them exchanged a glance, getting to their feet in seconds, and racing out of the library.

As they reached the Great Hall, Mabel asked Dipper, “Hey, do you wanna come sit with us today?” Dipper glanced over at the Hufflepuff table before looking down.

“Uh, I don’t really think that’s a good idea… Thanks for the offer though.” She glanced at him concernedly before nodding.

“Well, okay then. But the offer still stands if you change your mind.”

“Thanks.”

They walked through the doors and split apart, heading to their own tables. As Mabel sat down next to Soos and listened to him tell her about his day, she found her gaze and her attention wandering to the boy at the Slytherin table, plate empty and head in a book.

He was strange, and if Mabel knew anything about anything, she knew about strange.

* * *

Stanley Pines was a conman, a criminal, a wizard and a liar. And as he reread his niece’s letter for the fifth time, he knew that he was in trouble.

_Dear Grunkle Stan,_

_Hogwarts is great!! I love it here. The food and the people are all really nice. I got sorted into Hufflepuff, and I made lots of friends! Like Candy and Grenda, they’re in my year, and Soos, who’s in my house, and then there’s Robbie, and his friend Wendy! Oh, and this Slytherin kid called Dipper- he has our last name! Everyone keeps thinking we’re related, and they won’t listen when I say he’s not. But he’s pretty cool, I guess (he got mad at me earlier for throwing glitter in his face…). He was raised by his Grunkle too, how weird is that?_

_Anyway, I’d better go, I have homework to do._

_love Mabel !!!!! <3 xxx_

“This is a problem,” he muttered to the empty house. Mabel had met her twin after eleven years, and he had no idea if either of them would forgive them for lying.

He also didn’t want to call up Ford about this, but it seemed he would have to.

* * *

Ford Pines found himself pulled from his reading by the incessant buzzing of the telephone. Wondering just who was calling him (after all, his company nowadays was pretty limited, and very few people in wizard society had phones), he stalked over to where it hung on the wall and held it to his ear.

“Hello?” he barked down the receiver, his tone as no-nonsense as he could make it.

“Hey, Poindexter, it’s me!” Ford’s lip curled at the familiar voice.

“What do you _want_ , Stan? I thought we agreed twelve years ago would be the last time we’d ever speak.”

“Yeah, about that… I just got a letter from Mabel.”

“And I should care because…?”

“Dipper and Mabel are both at Hogwarts, Ford! They’re friends! They’re gonna want to meet in the holidays and go round to each other’s houses and they’ll find out the truth!”

“What-? No, that’s not going to happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Dipper’s not good with people. I’d be surprised if they’re still friends by Christmas, let alone the end of the school year.”

“Ford, you’re not listening-”

“Bye, Stan.” He hung up and left the receiver dangling so that his brother couldn’t call him back. Mabel was likely exaggerating in her letter; Dipper hadn’t mentioned making any friends in his. They’d probably talked once or twice, that was all.

Really, they had nothing to worry about.

* * *

Dipper didn’t know how he became friends with Mabel Pines; it just sort of happened. They weren’t alike at all (and that’s what Great-Uncle Ford had always said friends were, hadn’t he? People that were similar that spent time together), and yet they still always had something to talk about. Mabel was loud and excitable, always carried glitter around with her and bedazzled her uniforms. No one ever got mad at Mabel, and everyone loved her; she was perfect, even if her grades weren’t that good. Dipper, on the other hand, was bad at everything other than schoolwork; he didn’t know why Mabel continued to hang around with him, let alone why her friends seemed to enjoy his company.

He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed spending time with her, however. She was funny, always making him laugh, and tried to include him in the things she did with her friends. He often found himself being pulled along on adventures (he didn’t think anyone would forget about that incident with the gnomes for a long time), and landing in the detentions afterwards.

By the end of the year, he would probably have said that Mabel was his best friend. He piled into the compartment on the train with her, along with her friends Candy, Grenda, Soos, Wendy and Robbie. The room was full, far too full to be comfortable, but it was worth it for the jokes and conversation.

As the train came to a halt, Dipper found himself feeling disappointed. For some reason, the thought of being home wasn’t so appealing to him, anymore.

Mabel seemed to pick up on this, falling into step with him as they made their way off the train. “Hey, Dipper?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll come round this summer, won’t you? It’s my birthday August 31st, I’d love if you could make it.”

Dipper blinked. “Um, I’ll try! That’s actually my birthday, too, so I’m not sure if we’ll be doing something…”

“It is? Even better! Invite your Grunkle and friends, we’ll have a joint birthday party!”

“Um, okay!” Dipper smiled. “I’ll talk to Great-Uncle Ford about it.”

“Alright! Owl me and tell me what he says, yeah? Oh, there’s my Grunkle Stan, gotta go! See ya, Dipdops!”  
“Bye, Mabel!” Dipper waved, watching her vanish through the crowd. He sighed, picked up his trunk, and headed to the flooing station at the back of the platform. Taking a pinch of powder from the bowl on top, he transported first his luggage, and then himself, home.

The living room was empty, the fire dead. Dipper shuddered in the cold, though he wasn’t surprised. Ford often forgot to do simple things like light the fires and eat dinner and sleep. So did he.

“Great-Uncle Ford?” he called. “Great-Uncle Ford, where are you?” Leaving his stuff where it was, he made his way through the house. The kitchen and bathrooms were empty, and both of their bedrooms were dusty and unslept in. That left one place to look, then; the lab down in the basement.

He pulled aside the bookcase door and made his way down the stairs. As he descended, the air grew warmer, and lighter, until he emerged into the lab to find his Great-Uncle sat at a desk, sleeping with his head atop a pile of books.

Smiling to himself, Dipper walked over and shook his shoulder. “Hey, Great-Uncle Ford, wake up!” Ford jolted awake, blinking in confusion and looking at Dipper through his falling-off glasses.

“Dipper? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at school.”

“School’s over, Great-Uncle Ford. It’s summer again.” He blinked in surprise.

“That was fast.” He sat up, rubbing his eyes and replacing his glasses. “So, how was it?”

“It was good! The lessons were interesting; maybe a little basic on the theory, but it was nice to actually do magic. I made a couple of friends, too, so that was nice.”

“You made _friends_?” Ford sounded startled. Dipper nodded brightly.

“Yeah!” he said. “There’s Wendy, she’s a fourth-year Gryffindor, and her friends- I don’t really like them, but Wendy’s pretty cool, so I don’t mind hanging out with them; then there’s this fifth year Hufflepuff named Soos, he’s really cool; and Mabel! She has the same last name as us, and we have the same birthday, which is really _weird_ , but she’s nice. I- are you okay? You look kind of-”

“Dipper,” Ford said, and Dipper found himself taking a step back as Ford rose from his chair to tower over him. His glasses hid his eyes, but Dipper didn’t need to see them to see the fury in Ford’s face. “I need you to stay away from that Mabel girl.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Dipper asked.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Ford shut him down. Dipper flinched. “Just trust me, Dipper. She’s bad news. I want you to break all contact with her. Burn her letters. Ignore her when she calls you on the Floo. Avoid her when you return to school. It may seem harsh, I know, but it’s for your own good, Dipper.”

“I… I don’t understand,” Dipper whispered. “She’s a good person, she’s my friend-”

“You barely know her,” Ford pointed out. “And you’ve known me your entire life. So tell me Dipper, who do you trust more? Me, or Mabel?”

Dipper averted his gaze, staring down at his feet, blinking back tears. “You,” he mumbled.

Ford sighed, the anger draining out of his body. “I am sorry, Dipper. Why don’t you go put your stuff away, and I’ll make a start on tea. Your pick, to celebrate you coming home.”

Dipper forced a smile and looked back up. “Sounds great, Great-Uncle Ford!” he said, turning around and racing up the stairs. “I’ll go sort out my stuff.” He raced up, and didn’t look back.

* * *

Mabel’s birthday party was the biggest she’d ever had, with twice the balloons and ten times the sparkles of last year’s. Her friends from school milled around, mingling with the people from town, and everyone was having a great time.

Everyone except Mabel.

Stan sat down beside his niece on the porch, handing her a can of Pitt Cola. She opened it and took a long sip, sighing as she swallowed. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” he asked, opening his own drink.

“Dipper didn’t come,” Mabel told him, frowning.

“Ah, sweetie, he probably wanted to come. It’s his birthday too, right? He’s probably spending the day with family.” Mabel shook her head.

“But, Grunkle Stan, he’s been ignoring me all summer! He hasn’t replied to my letters, he hasn’t answered my floo calls, but Wendy told me he’s been talking to her, so I don’t know what to think! What if he suddenly decided he hates me? What if he hated me all along and just couldn’t say it?”

Stan wrapped an arm around her awkwardly. “I know you’re confused, but it’ll work out. These things always do. He probably has a really good explanation. And hey, you’ll see him tomorrow, won’t you?”

“I guess…”

“So don’t worry about it. Just, enjoy the party. Everyone’s here for you.” Mabel flashed him a smile.

“Thanks, Grunkle Stan,” she told him, leaping to her feet. He watched her run away and sighed, staring into his (unfortunately) non-alcoholic beverage.

“Just what is that brother of mine playing at?” he muttered to himself, before downing the entire thing.

* * *

Dipper ignored Mabel.

Mabel couldn’t explain it. He didn’t sit with them, avoided eye contact, and would turn and walk the other way if she tried to approach him in the halls. Even their other friends couldn’t get an answer out of him; whenever they brought her up, he’d change the topic of the conversation.

At long, long last, she found herself paired with him in herbology for a group project that would take a number of weeks to complete. She saw him try to argue with their professor after he’d finished reading out the list, but he was taking nothing, and sent Dipper to sit next to her.

The other groups had already started discussing which plant they were going to study and raise for the project, but the two of them sat in silence, the list in front of them unread. Finally, Mabel gathered the courage to speak.  
“Do you hate me?” she asked. Dipper startled.

“Huh? Why- why would you think that?” he asked. She scowled.

“I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been _ignoring me all summer_?”

“Oh. That. Listen, Mabel, it’s not personal or anything, I just can’t talk to you.”

“That doesn’t make sense! Come on, Dipper, just tell me _why_!”

He flinched. “Great-Uncle Ford told me I wasn’t allowed to talk to you.”

Mabel gaped at him. “That’s not…” she spluttered. “He doesn’t even know me!”

“I know,” Dipper said, staring at the desk and refusing to meet her eyes.

“So why did you listen to him? You could have wrote to me in secret, told me what was going on. I’ve been worried sick about you…”

Dipper’s eyes widened. “No, I couldn’t… I can’t just go behind his back like that.”

“Sure you can! Grunkle Stan told me rules are for suckers.”

He blinked. “Is that responsible?”

“Nope, which is why he always told me not to listen to him!”

“...Oh. But, I can’t just go against Great-Uncle Ford like that. It’d be… wrong. I’m sorry, Mabel.”

She sighed. “So, you’re still gonna avoid me?” He shrugged. “At least talk to me about this project, then?” He looked up and nodded.

“Okay. So, do you want to look at mandrakes or…”

* * *

_Dear Grunkle Stan,_

_I finally talked to Dipper! Turns out the reason he’s ignoring me is because_ his _Grunkle told him to. I tried to convince him to ignore his Grunkle, but he seemed really horrified by the thought of it, so I left it alone. He still won’t talk to me, though._

_I just don’t understand why his Grunkle would say that, though…?_

_Love, Mabel x_

* * *

Stan knocked on the door of his brother’s house. The place was in the middle of nowhere, the nearest muggle town miles away and the nearest wizarding community even further. He stood out there for a few minutes, shivering, before knocking again.

“Hey, Ford!” he yelled. “Open the door, it’s freezing out here!” Nothing. After ten minutes, he tried the door handle, and found that it was unlocked. Annoyed and cold, he stormed in, slamming it shut behind him.

He found Ford down in the basement, reading one of his nerd books. “Oi, Ford!” he yelled, causing his twin to jump.

“Stan, what’re you-”

“You told Dipper to stay away from Mabel?” Stan interrupted angrily. Ford blinked, before standing up at the table and taking a step toward him.

“Of course I did!” he snapped. “You didn’t want them finding out, and this way, they won’t. Simple.”

“That’s not- It just doesn’t work like that, Ford! Maybe you wouldn’t know since you’ve never had a _friend_ in your life, but they’re going to end up talking and being friends anyway. They’ll just feel _guilty_ about doing it. And they’ll find out the truth either way, except it will hurt more because they’ll know what you did. And you have Dipper so tightly wrapped around your finger; it’d be a shame to lose that trust, wouldn’t it, Ford.”

Ford scowled. “I’ve made my decision, Stan. Now get out of my house.”

“Fine,” Stan snapped. “But I’m telling Mabel, and you can’t do a thing to stop me.”

“Tell her, then!” Ford cried. “But Dipper won’t find out, even if I have to homeschool him myself.” As he spoke, Stan turned and walked out of the room, pausing on the steps.

“You’re a sad old man, Ford, if you think isolating a child is worth your peace and quiet.” And with that, he marched away, not looking back.

* * *

“How come I had to come home for the holidays?” Mabel asked, sitting down at the table with her hot chocolate in her hands. “Not that I don’t want to spend Chanukah with you, but I thought I was staying at school…”

Stan sighed. “Listen, Mabel, I have… something to tell you.” Mabel blinked in surprise.

“Oh-kay…? You look really serious about this. Is something wrong? You’re not- you’re not _dying_ , are you?”

“What? No, nothing like that, don’t worry. It’s just… how do I phrase this? I never wanted to tell you.”

Mabel took a sip of her hot chocolate, anxiety bubbling in her stomach. “Tell me _what_?”

“I… You have a brother.”

“I have a brother?” Mabel’s eyes widened. “I… It’s Dipper, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

They were silent for a moment. “Can you explain?” Mabel asked quietly.

“Yeah, mm, ‘course. You see, your mother, she was a Seer. Genuine psychic. The Ministry had her employed to read prophecies for them, she was really important… That’s where she met your dad, you know. Anyway, when you and your brother were born, she received a prophecy. I don’t know what this prophecy was, nobody does, but it scared your parents. They got in their car, started driving… But something startled them on the road. They swerved to avoid it, and crashed… You and your brother were the only survivors, by some kind of miracle. The ministry argued about what to do with you two until they found your dad’s will, which said the two of you were to be raised by his uncle. Guess he forgot he had two.”

“You and Dipper’s Grunkle?”

“Yeah, my twin brother, Ford. We each took a kid, and I… I don’t know. Ford and I haven’t gotten on at all since we were kids, and we hadn’t seen each other since an argument thirty years ago. I suggested raising you two together, but Ford was against it. Told me that we were never to speak again, and left. And so, you and your brother were raised separately. We weren’t expecting the two of you to meet, though we probably shoulda done.”

“Okay.” Mabel took a long sip of her drink, thinking. “Thanks for telling me, Grunkle Stan. What I don’t get, though, is why would Ford stop Dipper from talking to me?”

“He doesn’t want the two of you to find out. Ford’s paranoid, and he doesn’t trust anyone; it’s likely the only person he _has_ is Dipper. He thinks if Dipper finds out the truth, he’ll turn against him, and he’ll lose him.”

“Oh.” Mabel frowned. “That’s stupid, though. He can’t keep Dipper isolated forever.”

“I know that, you know that, and Dipper probably knows that, too. Ford doesn’t, though. I can’t reason with him, and I doubt anyone else can, either.”

“But that’s not fair!” Mabel cried. “I want to be friends with Dipper.”

“I know, pumpkin. I think you can be friends with Dipper, it’ll just take time. You’re probably the first friend he’s ever had.”

“That’s really sad, Grunkle Stan.”

The kitchen was silent. Mabel looked down into her hot chocolate, and wondered just what she was going to do with this information.

* * *

When Dipper arrived home for Christmas (though he didn’t know why Great-Uncle Ford had asked him to come back, considering neither of them celebrated any holidays), he found his Uncle stood in the room, waiting for him. He had a cold air about him, and Dipper suddenly wished he were back at school.

“Welcome home, Dipper,” he said.

“Hi, Great-Uncle Ford,” Dipper replied, forcing himself to sound as neutral as he possibly could.

“You won’t be attending Hogwarts anymore,” Ford informed him curtly. Dipper frowned.

“Wait, what?”

“It’s too dangerous. I just can’t have you there.”

“Is this about Mabel? ‘Cause I really have been avoiding her, it’s just hard-”

“Forget about her, Dipper. You won’t be going back, so it’s not like you’ll see her again.”

“But what about school?”

“I can teach you everything you need to know.” Ford sighed. “I know you’re confused, Dipper, but this is for the best. I was foolish, letting you attend Hogwarts. You’ll be safe here.” Dipper nodded, forced a smile.

“Okay,” he choked out. “I’ll just- go put my stuff away.”

“Okay,” Ford agreed. “I’ll be down in the lab if you need me. Take a day to yourself, get used to being home again.”

“Okay,” Dipper agreed. He headed upstairs, grabbing his stuff and pulling it with him. Dumping his trunk on his bed, he made his way to the desk, and found a spare piece of parchment.

 _Dear Mabel_ , he wrote on it, _Great-Uncle Ford banned me from going to Hogwarts. I don’t know why, but I’m sorry, if that means anything. Thanks for being my friend._

_-Dipper._

Then he took a match and struck a flame, adding a pinch of floo powder to it. “Mabel Pines at the Mystery Shack,” he whispered, dropping the parchment into the green fire and watching it burn.

When the last remains of paper were gone, he blew out the match and threw it from his window, before turning to his bed and starting to unpack his stuff, unaware of his Uncle watching him from the other side of the door.

* * *

“Hey, Mabel!” Wendy greeted as Mabel sat down at the Gryffindor table beside Candy and Grenda. “How was home?”

“It was good,” Mabel replied with a short-lived smile. Wendy frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Dipper’s not coming back,” Mabel told her miserably. “His Grunkle’s keeping him home. And it’s all my fault.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Wendy asked. “Okay, that’s messed up. But I don’t see how that’s your fault, you’ve never met the guy!”

“I guess, but… Grunkle Stan told me this secret, and that’s why Dipper’s not coming back.”

“Mabel, man, you’re gonna have to explain, because I’ve got no clue what you’re on about.”

“Turns out, Dipper _is_ actually my brother. We’re twins, and when our parents died, we were both shipped off to different relatives.”

“Really?” Grenda asked. “Sounds like something right out of a movie!”

“And Dipper’s being kept at home because his Grunkle doesn’t want him finding out?” Wendy asked. Mabel nodded. “Man, that sucks. And you can’t get in contact with him at all?”

“No.”

“Aw, don’t look so down! Come on, we’ll fix this, even if we have to _drag_ him back here by his hair.” Mabel looked up at her, an idea forming in her mind.

“Actually…” she said, smiling, “you might be onto something there.”

* * *

Dipper was pulled from his book by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Great-Uncle Ford was out, looking for evidence in the woods, but he had the key to get in, so it couldn’t be him. There was nobody else for miles, however, so who could it be?

 _Only one way to find out, I guess_ , he thought, headed for the door.

He opened it to find five very familiar faces staring back at him.

“What are you guys doing here?” he demanded, but was drowned out by Mabel’s cry of,

“ _Dipper_!” He stumbled backwards as she threw her arms around him. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Um…” Dipper pushed her away. “You never did say why you were here, you know. Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

“It’s the Easter holidays,” Wendy informed him. “And we _came_ to talk some sense into that Uncle of yours, so he’d let you come back to Hogwarts.”

Dipper glanced around, searching to see if his Uncle was in the treeline, but couldn’t see him. “Um, that’s nice of you and all, but I don’t think Great-Uncle Ford will change his mind.”

“Why’s he keeping you home, anyway, dude?” Soos asked.

“I dunno, he just said it’s dangerous…” Dipper said with a shrug. “But, uh, you should probably leave. Before he gets home.”

“No way!” Grenda cried. “We came all this way… I wanna punch someone!”

“Yes, and talk to your Uncle,” Candy agreed.

“And punch someone!” Grenda echoed.

“Dipper!” called a familiar voice. Dipper winced as Ford appeared from the woods, stalking toward the house. “Dipper, what’s the meaning of this?” he asked when he was close enough to be heard without yelling.

“I don’t know, I- they were just here- um-”

“Hello,” Mabel said, walking up to stand in front of Ford and sticking out a hand. “We’ve never actually met. I’m your niece, Mabel Pines.” Ford didn’t move to take her hand. Mabel smiled sweetly, curling her own into a fist. “And this is for taking my brother away from me.” With lightning-fast speed she jumped, and crashed her fist into Ford’s nose. There was a loud crack; Ford stumbled backwards, covering his nose with his hands, as Mabel landed gracefully on the ground, uncurling her hand and flexing her fingers.

“Whoo, go Mabel!” Wendy cheered, and the others echoed her sentiments, but soon fell silent as Ford straightened up, pulling his hands away from his bloody nose. Dipper could see the anger in his body, and took a step backwards, further into the house.

“It’s so incredibly easy to see that my idiot brother raised you,” Ford said, directing the words at Mabel. Mabel stood her ground, but Dipper could see her sudden unsurety, as if she were regretting coming. Dipper was just confused; nothing was really making sense. “I’ll give you one chance, girl. Leave. Now. And never come back.”

Mabel set her jaw. “I’m not leaving without Dipper,” she said. Dipper found himself equal parts impressed with her bravery and worried about her stupidity.

“Very well,” Ford said, pulling his wand from his coat. “I warned you…” He raised his wand and sent a silent curse at Mabel. Mabel froze, turning pale, before letting out a scream. Ford lowered his wand, breaking the spell, but Mabel didn’t seem any better, tears in her eyes and her breath coming in uneven gasps. Wendy moved in front of her, and Soos grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a protective hug.

“Hey, leave her alone!” Wendy yelled. “She’s just a kid!”

“I won’t tell you again,” Ford said, voice dangerously low. “Get off my property, and _don’t come back_.” Wendy met his gaze, then sighed and looked away.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Come on, guys.” Dipper watched from the doorway as his friends walked away into the trees. Ford also watched them go, before turning to Dipper, eyes full of fury.

“Get in the house, Dipper,” he commanded. Dipper stumbled back into the hall, and Ford followed, closing the door behind them.

“Am- Am I in trouble?” Dipper asked. Ford narrowed his eyes.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “Explain yourself.”

“I- there was a knock on the door, so I answered it, and they were just- there! I kept on telling them that they should leave, but they kept on saying they wanted to talk to you.”

“I see.”

“I…” Dipper gathered all the courage he had. “I’m really confused. What you said, is- is Mabel really my sister?”

“That’s not important.”

“She _is_ , isn’t she? And the reason you don’t want me at Hogwarts is because you don’t want me finding out. But I don’t understand… _why_?”

“If you know what’s good for you, Dipper, you’ll leave it alone. You’ll forget about that school, and your friends, and that girl. We go back to the way things were before, and never mention this again.” Dipper swallowed as Ford pulled his wand from his pocket. “And if you don’t, I’ll _make_ you.”

“Okay,” Dipper whispered. “I’ll forget about them. I- I won’t ever bring it up again. I promise.” Ford kept his gaze for a few seconds before smiling.

“Well then,” he said cheerfully, putting his wand away, “That wasn’t so hard, was it? I’m going to be working late tonight, you know where to find me if you need anything.”

“Yeah… Thanks Great-Uncle Ford.”

Dipper stood in the hall until he was sure Ford was down in the lab. Then, he turned and headed to the living room, where the fire was burning in the grate. He sent an apprehensive glance over his shoulder before taking a handful of floo powder. Closing his eyes, he threw it into the fire, and stepped into the green flame.

“The Mystery Shack,” he whispered, and felt himself be whisked away.

****  
  



End file.
